Lord, This Must be our Final Destination
by Romance Isn't Dead
Summary: A devious new threat arrives to the world of Fire Emblem: Awakening. Chrom, Lucina, and Robin's relationships with each other will be tested as they are pulled into a world much larger than just themselves. Featuring fresh new takes on classic characters, while respecting the reasons we love them in the first place, this is the Smash Bros Crossover epic you've been waiting for!
1. A New Awakening

Chapter 1:

A New Awakening

"Robin, the Risen are retreating," Chrom said. He wiped the sweat from his brow with a nervous smile. "Have they ever done that?"

Robin snapped his tome shut, releasing a crackle of stored-up electricity. He rubbed the back of his neck and cast his gaze skyward, where the dark clouds overhead were beginning to dissipate. "Never. If there was a chance they could take down just one of us, they would pursue until the bitter end."

Chrom sighed and sheathed his sword. "That's what I thought." He surveyed his troops in the valley below, his loyal Shepherds, faithful companions and even better friends. He was glad to see that they would each survive the day. But what of tomorrow? What did Grima's servants have planned for them then?

"We should speak with Lucina," Robin said, planning ahead as always. "She may have more insight into the Risen's behavior."

"She was to protect the camp, correct?" Chrom said, suddenly anxious. "Do you think they've seen any fighting?"

Robin reached up to put a reassuring hand on Chrom's shoulder. "No group of Risen split off from the main group. If they had attacked the camp, it would have required stealth and meticulous planning. Why, disguising the movements of a separate force while simultaneously luring us into a long, drawn out battle would be a tactical masterstroke, no easy feat for a bunch of shambling-"

"We should go," Chrom said, with all the authority a warrior-king can muster. "Now."

"Alright, but Chrom, you don't need to worry. The chances-"

"Damn the chances. How many times have we overcome the odds with your strategies? If the Risen are retreating, that means someone, or something, is leading them. Maybe someone who can beat us at our own game."

"Chrom."

"I won't lose Lucina. I won't lose her like Emmeryn."

"Chrom, go get the pegasus knights, the cavaliers, hell, even Frederick. Anyone who can cover ground."

"Thank you, Robin," Chrom said, saddling his horse. "For trusting me." He began to trot away but pulled the reigns suddenly and turned back towards Robin. "But what will you do?"

Robin knocked on his tome, a powerful Thoron spell. "You'll have to trust me, my friend. Now go!"

Lucina swung her blade at an Entombed as it dashed past, but it sunk into the ground and she struck only air. She backflipped and spun midair to reorient herself, but it was too late. Reforming itself from a puddle of thick mud, it sprung onto Maribelle, shoving the healer to the ground. It raised its sharp claws for the killing blow, just out of Lucina's reach. She tried to yell for help, but the only word that came out was "Father!"

A spear took the Risen in the side, allowing Maribelle to crawl out from underneath. Lucina was upon the foe now, and she finished it off with a low, arcing swing. Donnel, the young, inexperienced farm boy nearly fell over trying to pull his spear out of the monster. His clothes were soiled, and the pot that covered his head had acquired more than a few dents. Gods, this was no fighting force. Here were the weak, the wounded, and the rookies. In the future, her future, they would have been like lambs to the slaughter. But here it could be different. If they could just hold out long enough, Father would come. The Shepherd would come to save his sheep.

"Donnel, you have to get Maribelle out of danger!" Lucina said as the boy was straightening his pot helmet. "And find Sumia a Pegasus. If she's too injured to fight, she can at least warn Chrom."

"You can count on Donny, your ladyship!" Donnel said, straightening up for a salute.

Gods, that boy was eager. She sighed, and pointed behind him with Falchion. He spun to see a charging Risen, then looked back at Lucina. She smiled and nodded encouragingly.

"This ain't so tough," he said, skewering the Risen through the gut. But he watched in abject fear as the Risen lifted his axe and cleaved through the spear's haft. He raised it again, this time aiming for Donnel, but Lucina caught the blow with her blade and then smoothly cut through the Risen's neck.

She caught his axe as he collapsed, and extended it towards Donnel. "You ever use an axe before?"

"Not for anything 'sides chopping firewood, I ain't," he said.

"The principle is the same."

"The prince-a-what-now?" he said, taking the axe. Lucina pointed towards Maribelle and Donnel rushed over to her. The two headed towards where Kellam, hobbled and bruised, had managed to hold the front line.

She scanned their path for any potential signs of ambush, but was relieved to see them received into the ranks. Her relief was short-lived however, as a cold, scaly hand pressed into her shoulder, digging in its claws. She tried to pull free, but the hand instead pulled her off the ground and spun her around.

This assailant was no Risen. He was a dragon, not like a manateke, or Grima for that matter. He had a spiny shell like a turtle, and a wild red mane. She could tell by the way it smiled and laughed that this was no mindless beast.

She swung Falchion with her free hand, but he caught it between his fingers like a toothpick and pried it out of her hand.

"BWA-HAHAHAA," he laughed, full-throated and deep, then said something in his dragon-tongue. He brushed her hair with one of his claw fingers, a sensation that sent chills down her spine.

She felt powerless, defiled. She couldn't help but scream and kick and flail. And then she was on her back, dazed and winded from the fall. The turtle-dragon's attention was no longer on her. He was looking towards the sky. Towards a Pegasus, with two riders. Sumia? Father?

The riders swooped towards her, launching a bolt of crackling energy into the turtle-dragon and forcing him to retreat into his shell. As soon as the pegasus' hooves struck earth, Robin jumped down and sent a gust of concentrated wind at the shell, sending it sliding into the enemy ranks and bowling down dozens of Risen.

"Robin!" she said, wrapping her arms around him. "Where is my father? Is he safe?"

"Yes, and worried about you," Robin said. "I never would have realized you were in danger without him. He's on the way with reinforcements."

"Thank the gods," she said, holding back tears of relief. "I need you, Robin. We need you. It's easy to lead when it's a suicide mission, when you expect to lose people. But that's not how it is anymore. I don't know how you and Father do it."

"Peace, Lucina," Robin said, wiping the tears from her face. "We'll do it together." He leaned down to pick up Falchion and handed it to her.

"Right," she said, and they charged into battle.


	2. A Shepherd Among Wolves

Chapter 2:

A Shepherd Among Wolves

Chrom's horse plunged into a sudden plume of smoke. He tried to stop, but it was too late. His horse dug in its hooves, reared, and spun, leaving him with no idea which way would lead back to his comrades. He regretted riding ahead of the others. Was this it for him? The steward of the Fire Emblem and king of Ylisse killed in a simple ambush. For all of his and Robin's talk about being stronger together, it was ironic how they had both gone into danger alone. Had his friend met the same fate?

He raised his sword, but it was no use. The smoke stung his eyes and obscured his peripheral vision. He could call for help, but that would risk leading his friends into the teeth of a trap. No, he was on his own.

He jumped down from his horse and took a defensive stance until at last, the smoke began to fade. Through the clearing haze, a masked figure approached, unarmed but imposing nonetheless. Chrom looked back for any sign of his companions, but alas, there was nothing.

"Are you one of the Risen?" Chrom called out, before realizing the stupidity of the question. The masked man didn't answer in the low moan of a dying man or the growl of a rabid dog, so Chrom took that as a no.

The man approached Chrom directly, and regarded him with his one visible eye. Only a few wisps of smoke remained now; Chrom could see that the two of them were alone. If this was an ambush, it would at least be straightforward.

The man was short and lean, wrapped from head to toe in tight fitting cloth and leather. Besides a blue eye and long blonde bangs, Chrom could make out little else about him. A Plegian assassin, most like, if not sent by Grima himself.

Chrom sighed and buried Falchion's tip solidly into the dirt. "You caught me at a bad time, friend. I'm worried about my daughter, I'm worried about my friend, and when I get worried, I get angry. So I'll cut you a deal: leave right now, and no Ylissean will stop you on your way back to Plegia. But if you want to kill me, I'll give you a head start. No surprises, no games. Just you and me."

The little rogue laughed. It was an oddly familiar laugh, serious and restrained but with a hint of mischievous adolescence. Like Henry, actually. Well, maybe not quite that childish. More like Lucina. Gods damn it, this little charade had gone on long enough. He picked up his sword with a stiff forearm, he brushed past the little guy. But something caught him by the fingertips and spun him awkwardly into the ground. When he opened his eyes again, there he was again, peering down at him. Had this twig of a man really brought him down, without even using a weapon?

Even stranger, the man offered him a hand. Defeated, Chrom took it. If this man wanted to kill him, he had already had ample opportunity to do so. Chrom felt something solid in the man's hand as he was pulled to his feet. When he tried to let go, the man pressed it firmly into his palm.

He looked down at the small, pink crystal in his hand. It was too large to fit in the Fire Emblem. But then, what was it if not that? The man began to talk, but it was no language Chrom had ever heard before. And then the random syllables began to form into words in his mind.

"By now you should be able to understand what I'm saying, though I hail from a distant world. This, hopefully, should give you reason enough to hear me out." His voice was muffled by the cloth over his mouth, but he enunciated clearly and spoke slowly enough for Chrom to catch on.

"I'm sorry, but I really don't have time-"

"Yes, I'm aware of your concerns," the man said brusquely. "Rest assured, your daughter is fine, Lord Chrom. Your friend Robin has joined up with her to fight off the Risen. What I have to say will no doubt be of interest to both of them."

"Then speak quickly. Why have you come, and how is it that I can understand you?"

"The crystal in your hand is a rare Sheikah artifact. It is capable of translating any language, given enough time to listen. And it will be vital for us in the days ahead."

"Us?" Chrom said. "Unless you intend to help us fight Grima, then we have no business together. Ylisse, Valm, right now, the whole world depends on the Shepherds."

"Chrom, you must listen," the man said sharply. "The fate of all worlds depends on what I have to say. Not just yours or mine."

"You're not serious," Chrom said, massaging his temples.

"I wish it weren't so, but these are our circumstances. You see, I am like you: the heir to a kingdom, under threat from a great evil. An evil that could be fought, perhaps. But I have not come to enlist your aid for this, because my kingdom is naught but ashes and bones. And with it, the entire world upon which it rested."

"How is that possible?" Chrom said. "Even in Lucina's future, our future, hope still remains."

"There is no hope left for them. But for you and yours, perhaps. It will require you to trust in me, and to leave all of this behind, the war, your kingdom, your friends."

"And if I don't?"

"They will seize your Fire Emblem and use it to crush your world until nothing remains. And then they will move onto the next world, to gather more power and spread further destruction."

"Surely we can fight them," Chrom said, clutching the Fire Emblem tightly. "We can use the Emblem's power ourselves, and Robin's strategies will buy us time. That is the will of Naga."

"Can't you see? This is beyond Naga, beyond your Gods and mine. You have no hope to resist. Not alone."

"What are you suggesting?" Chrom said, tightening his fists. "That I leave my people to die at Grima's hands while I galivant off to some other world? Because I won't do it. Emmeryn died for her people, and so will I, if need be."

"Oh? Is now a good time for you? Try to save yourself, Lord Chrom. Try to fight. In the meantime, perhaps Robin and Lucina will be wiser."

"Wait!" Chrom shouted as the man turned his back. "Where are you going? What am I fighting?"

"Goodbye, Lord Chrom," the man said. An explosion of smoke shot out of the ground in a narrow, plume. The wind dissipated it quickly, but there was no sign of the masked man.

"Answer me!" he shouted into the sky. If Grima wasn't even his greatest threat, if all this bloodshed had been for nothing, he couldn't bear to imagine.

_Nothing but dust and bones. _

"Milord, are you unharmed?" Frederick spoke, armored knight and warhorse appearing as if from nowhere.

"Yes, Frederick, thank you. Have you found Lucina?"

"The others rode on ahead, milord. It would not do for me to leave you alone out here with the Risen about."

"Frederick the Wary," Chrom said, smiling. "I shouldn't have ridden ahead; I'm sorry to worry you."

"If you were more cautious, then we'd never have made it this far. You trusted Robin, a complete stranger with a concerningly selective case of amnesia, and he has delivered us victory after victory."

"What would have happened if I had left him there, I wonder?"

"If you had left a stranger in need, I would have rushed you to a healer on account of your sudden bout of madness." Frederick said, with a rare smile. "I might consider it now if you don't saddle up momentarily."

Chrom nodded and put his foot in the stirrup of his mount as he had thousands of times before. But it caught his leg as the horse reared and jerked the back of his head into the ground.

Chrom returned back to consciousness with a sudden rush of sensation. His leg hurt, but not as much as his head. His horse was gone, but at least it wasn't dragging him. And Frederick, there he was on the ground. His eyes were open, but the blood, it pooled beneath his pristine blue armor. He crawled over, ripping off his cape to fashion a bandage, but gods, there was a hole straight through his chest. What magic could do this?

He felt a boot come down on his back. It dug into him and twisted to inflict even more pain.

"Your friend was the lucky one, kid," said a gruff voice. "He didn't even know what hit him. Better that way. Less screaming."

"What do you want?" Chrom grunted into the dirt.

"Boss wants your little trinket. Me? I want the money, the glory, and the women. You're about to make me very rich, kid."

Chrom felt the pressure lift from his back, but before he could move, a kick to the ribs rolled him over. Standing above him was a wolf, or something like a wolf, but wearing a man's clothing. He held a glowing metal weapon to Chrom's face.

"Say cheese," the wolf said before his weapon flashed.


	3. A Time For 'Told Ya So's'

Chapter 3:

A Time For 'Told Ya So's'

"Your boy king is dead, because he did not heed my warning," the masked man said, pulling his dagger from the neck of the last Risen. The sound of it thudding to the ground was magnified by the stunned silence. Who was this stranger, and how could he know about Chrom?

"Whatever your game is, we won't fall for it," Robin said, as the pages of his tome fluttered open. "Hell itself couldn't stop Chrom from coming to our aid."

But Lucina said nothing; she just sheathed her sword and sunk to her knees.

"Lucina, surely you don't believe this stranger?" Robin said, crouching down beside her.

"Gods," she said in a low voice. "I've failed again. All of this," she said, sniffling. "Just to lose him again. Except this time, it was my fault."

"If what you say is true," Robin said, "Why didn't you save him?"

"As long as he held the Fire Emblem, he was beyond salvation," the masked man said, his tone sympathetic. "The assassin who took his life was merely the first of a great many. There was no escape for him on this world. Just as there will be no escape here for you."

"Then what would you have us do?" Robin asked, still rifling through the pages of his tome.

"The crystals you now hold are the key to our resistance," the masked man said. "I had thought that the three of you would understand that a group of heroes could be greater than its component parts. With these crystals, we could combine our strength with the heroes of countless other worlds. The enemy expects us to cling to our worlds at the expense of all others. Only by accepting sacrifice can we hope to save them."

"Like you sacrificed my father?" Lucina said, regaining composure. "He didn't fit into your grand strategy?"

"He was to lead us," the man said, bowing his head. "Perhaps he still could."

"Explain yourself!" Robin shouted.

The man jolted upright, seemingly surprised by Robin's response. "I'm… sorry. I did not wish to give false hope. But there is a hero who could bring him back."

"You're toying with us," Robin said. "Is he dead or isn't he?"

The man shook his head. "I cannot explain more, I'm sorry. Either way, I need your help more than ever. Both of you. Of all the worlds in this web, I came here first. Because you can inspire people, lead them against impossible odds without hesitation."

"Maybe you could have convinced my father," Lucina said, standing up. "He was as impulsive as he was idealistic. And he was a better man than me." Her cape fluttered in the wind as she turned her back and walked away, with Robin close behind.

"If there is a way to save him," she said to Robin. "Promise me we'll find it."

Robin didn't know what to say, so he just hugged her tightly into his chest.

"Ahem. I hate to ruin the moment, but-" a gruff voice announced. A wolfman stepped out from behind a collapsed tent, swaggering towards them with the confidence of a predator pursuing feeble prey. "I was sold a bill of goods, and this emblem is a few gems short of a McGuffin, if you know what I mean."

"What?" Lucina said brusquely, drawing her Falchion. "How did you get that?"

"Twinsies," the wolf said, revealing his own identical sword. "Personally, I think it looks better on me. Sorta clashes with the blue hair, I think."

Robin wasted no time, as his tome jumped open and released a 20 foot long spear of lightning. Just before impact, the wolf tapped the side of his belt and the spell was bounced harmlessly aside.

"Such a shame," he said with an evil grin. "My turn!" The object in his hand recoiled backwards as it fired a slug of green energy that seemed to move in slow motion and light speed at once.

Robin reached for his Elwind tome to redirect it, but Lucina shoved him out of its path. Her face was bathed in unnatural green light as it struck her.

But then, as if time itself had turned back, it shot back towards the foe, deflected by some spell the masked man cast as he pirouetted inside a crystal-shaped forcefield. It struck the wolf in an explosion that sent him launching skyward.

The cloth wrappings covering the man began to fall away as he spun to a stop. Standing in front of Lucina now was no man, but a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and a fine pink gown.

"That was the one who killed your father," the woman said in a dignified voice, though she was breathing heavily. "The first of many."

"Thank you," Lucina said. "For killing him."

"The one called Wolf is not dead. He is protected by powerful magic, not the least of which is your Fire Emblem."

"We have to get it back," Robin said, scanning the horizon.

"It is lost to you now, and you should consider this a mercy. They would never let you escape this world with it." The woman placed a silk gloved hand on Robin's arm. "You are a legendary strategist; I beseech you, think of this as an opportunity."

"For what? Without the Fire Emblem-"

"To infiltrate the enemy's encampment and activate their portal," she said, obviously prepared for the question. "In another world, there is a castle under siege. If we can break that siege, I believe we can save your friend. Your father."

"Lucina, you asked me to promise, that if there was a way to save him-"

"Without my father, our future is already lost. I've seen it," Lucina said, resolute. "I'd cut down a thousand Risen to bring him back, you know that. But if this woman is lying, I won't hesitate to add her body to the pile."

"You heard the princess, um-" Robin said.

"Zelda," the woman said. "_Princess_ Zelda."

"Your highnesses," Robin said, gesturing the two princesses ahead. What was it with these royal women and crossdressing, anyway?


End file.
